Diametrical Opposite
by Gasian Gaond
Summary: After her father was found guilty of murder, Rise's entire idol career was shattered to pieces. She decided to quit and move to Inaba, only to find herself as a suspect of another murder case. AU
1. Prologue

DIAMETRICAL OPPOSITE

A/N: Hello everyone, this is my first try on a Persona fanfic. This story might or might not be continued, when I'm back to school I'll have a tight schedule so I need to know whether this story is worth continuing for you readers (my mood can affect it too) :)

If the story does continue:

-Since this takes place in an AU, supernatural beings such as Persona and Shadows might not appear in their usual roles.

-Although written in third person, most of the story would follow Rise and her point of view (which is why Naoto is referred to as 'he' in this chapter).

-Will contain NaotoxRise yuri pairing

-I apologize for any OOC-ness in the story.

I made this for pure fun, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Summary: After her father was found guilty of murder, Rise's entire idol career was shattered to pieces. She decided to quit and move to Inaba, only to find herself as a suspect of another murder case. AU

* * *

DIAMETRICAL OPPOSITE

PROLOGUE

Rise Kujikawa felt fully content with her decision.

She knew it would take some time to depart from her usual routine, but she felt so relieved she finally could get away from the demands of work.

This was the only choice she had anyway. Her life turned upside down after her father somehow became a suspect of a murder case. She felt that he was just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, and so did the police, who could not find any proof that he was the culprit. However, the victim's family hired a private detective, and it all went downhill from there. The genius young man successfully threw Rise's father to prison, and Rise's career ended as she became an object of universal derision. She _could_ try to hire a powerful lawyer to free him, but the scandal had dealt such a powerful blow to her career that Rise couldn't afford to make a dent in her finances.

"I'm sorry, Rise-chan, I guess a place like this isn't satisfying enough for you..."

"It's okay, Grandma. It's not like I want to stay in a de luxe hotel," Rise replied, "I'll go to school starting from tomorrow, and I can help you out in my free time. I don't mind!"

It was a thousand times better than staying at her old town and having to bear with derisive remarks and derogatory comments anywhere she went.

The elderly woman gave her a sweet smile. "Ohh, you're such a nice girl, Rise-chan. In that case, can you help me with a little errand? Or do you want to rest some more?"

Truthfully Rise really wanted to go back inside her room and sleep, but she desperately needed a chore to make her forget about everything that had happened. "No, it's okay, I've already slept on my way here. What can I do for you, Grandma?"

"I need you to deliver these to Takigawa-san. He lives alone near your school, " her grandmother then gave her a more detailed explanation of the location.

The brunette received a little box from her grandmother and checked inside it. "Oh isn't this the crispy fried tofu that you stopped selling?"

"Yes, I think it's too unhealthy, but by popular demand I start selling it again."

Rise laughed and put on her shoes and coat.

It was windy outside when she stepped out of the store. She could feel the strong wind blowing her hair which was tied in two pigtails. It wasn't really a good weather to wander around town, but she felt a bit grateful. This way she would bump into less people in the road, and she didn't want to be recognized. The media hadn't chased her to this town yet, and she wondered how the media would react when they found her doing an errand they found demeaning. They would probably run another article about how her father got his just deserts.

Unsurprisingly, her derailed mind quickly got her lost in the neighborhood. She scratched her head, trying to figure out where she was. She could see her school, so she knew she was in the right track. Then she remembered school time was almost over, and she started to panic. The last thing she needed was a wave of high schoolers who could recognize her on a whim.

Several confused minutes later, she finally arrived at Takigawa-san's small house. Sighing in relief, she scrambled to his lawn and knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

"Takigawa-saaaan!" she called loudly, "Takigawa-saaan! I'm from Marukyu!"

She tried pressing her ears on the door. It was quiet. Was he away?

Rise tried calling his name for the next five minutes, but noone would open the door. 'Oh, whatever, I'll just leave this here,' Rise thought impatiently as she left the box on the bench near the door.

She just hoped Takigawa-san got home before ants got to it.

* * *

Her first day at school attracted so much attention to her that she had a hard time dealing with almost every person she met.

To be honest, she was flattered, but when everyone kept questioning her about her father she wasn't really enjoying the attention. And don't start on how people only saw her as Risette.

'What am I getting all worked up for?' she asked herself during break, 'I'm a high schooler! I'll look for a handsome guy, go shopping, and party as much as I like!'

Yes, this was supposed to be a whole new life for Rise! Good bye, exhausting idol life! Hello, normal high school life!

She just needed a few months until everyone forgot about the disaster, and she would be Rise the new queen of Yasogami High! No more weird scandals involving murder!

She was so pumped up that she almost punched the air in front of her classmates.

That was when she heard a knock on her classroom door. A male student was standing there, one that she had never seen before. He was wearing a blue cap that almost obscured his whole face. A few of Rise's classmates who were in the classroom looked up at him curiously.

Ignoring the stares of the other students, the boy fixed his collar and walked straight toward Rise, who raised her eyebrows higher with his every step.

Rise let out a sigh. 'What now, a confession? I know I'm so popular, but I'm sorry, random guy, you don't seem like my type at all,' she thought wearily, 'But I'm bored. Fine, I'll play with you.'

"Are you Rise Kujikawa?" The boy's voice was deep and calm.

Rise cleared her throat. "Yes, I am. And you are?"

"Naoto Shirogane," he said. Rise tried to look at his eyes. Why did he have to wear that dumb cap? "I'm a detective."

Rise blinked. A detective? A detective who went to high school? Was this a joke?

"Are you here to ask me about my father?" she asked bitterly.

"No. Your father's case is already closed," Naoto said, "I'm talking about the murder of Takigawa Yuuji-san."

Nothing had prepared Rise for this. She licked her dry lips and blurted out, "Er, what?"

"Takigawa-san was murdered inside his house yesterday afternoon. There are several witnesses who saw someone that resembled you coming out of his house around the time of the crime," he explained nonchalantly, "I'm afraid I have to ask you a few questions, Kujikawa-san."

Rise felt like a stone had been dropped inside her stomach.

She had to ask...but she didn't want to know..not when she was just starting to accept her new life just now...

"Am I..." she gulped, "Am I...a suspect?"

Naoto stared at her face in silence.

"Yes, you are a suspect, Kujikawa-san."

* * *

Should I continue this story? R&R please!


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello again!

If you happen to find some things in this chapter to be confusing, please read my author's notes from the Prologue again.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

This couldn't be happening.

What did she do to deserve this?

For several painful minutes she didn't say anything, her mind was working at full speed.. and then Rise heard whispers around her. Whispers that jolted her back to reality.

With a movement so fast that it felt like an instinct, she grabbed Naoto's wrist and pulled him out of the classroom, away from the accusing stares of her classmates.

"Can I interrupt..."

"No," Rise said as she walked as fast as she could, "We have to find a quieter place."

After arriving at an empty corridor, she looked around to double-check the place before she menacingly said, "What the hell were you thinking? !"

Naoto simply looked at her with the same calmness as before. "As I was saying," he told her, "You are a suspect, and I'm here to investigate."

"But you can't just blurt it out in front of everybody like that!" Rise said, trying her hardest to keep her voice down, "Not all those people get what 'suspect' means! Depend upon it half of them will think I'm a murderer!"

"That is completely unrelated to the matter at hand," Naoto responded, "Until there is enough proof that you are really not the murderer, at least."

"I didn't murder him!" she said, losing control of her voice, "I was just delivering tofu! And besides, I have no motive! I don't even know Takigawa-san!"

"You don't know Takigawa Yuuji-san, but we can be sure that you know his brother. Takigawa Yuuichi-san. He is a detective who investigated your father's case," Naoto explained coldly, "You have a strong motive."

Rise opened her mouth and closed it again.

Takigawa...Takigawa...

Sure that name sounded familiar, but she wasn't thinking about it at all back then!

"I didn't even know his first name!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you have a motive," he said as Rise sighed in frustration, "And you are the only suspect we have so far."

"Right...right..." Rise said, taking a deep breath as tears started to form in her eyes, "This is insane. This is completely insane!"

She sank down on the floor and buried her face in her arms. Naoto just stood there in silence, as if he was giving her some space.

However, as much as Rise tried to keep a cool head, her mind kept jumping around so much that she started to feel dizzy.

Wiping her tears, she forced herself to keep talking. "Why are you here, and not the police?"

She thought Naoto wouldn't explain it to her, but he did. "A few days ago Yuuji-san received a threatening letter from an anonymous sender. He was terrified and called his brother for help. However, Takigawa Yuuichi-san is currently abroad and unable to investigate the matter, so he sent me as his replacement," he said, "When I arrived at his house yesterday night, the police told me he was already murdered. Yuuichi-san was furious, so he immediately recommended the Inaba police force to work with me to solve the case quickly."

Rise regretted she asked, because now she felt even more dizzy.

"However...that is not the only reason the police need my help," he continued, "We still don't know the cause of his death."

For the first time after they went out of the classroom, Rise looked directly into his eyes. Those dark, pearly blue eyes spelled doom for Rise.

"You really are a detective?" she asked.

"Yes, I am, and the police will come pretty soon..." he said lightly, "And while we wait, let's have a little question and answer session, shall we..?"

* * *

For the next several days, Rise seriously considered to live in the depths of the country for real.

After exhausting interrogations and hours of escaping from the media, she was declared free from charge because the police, more tired and frustrated than ever, could not seem to decide the cause of Takigawa's death. They couldn't find diseases or wounds or poison or traces of suicide or any kind of organ damage in his body, the only thing wrong about Takigawa was that he was clearly dead. An article on the local newspaper even jokingly commented that Takigawa was killed by a curse.

However, Rise's life never came back to normal.

She kept crying in her room. Her loneliness went beyond description, although some of her schoolmates did their best not to alienate her. In the end she developed dependence on their pity in her desperation, because anyone who wasn't one of them gave her a look that obviously showed they still thought she deserved prison.

When she was not in her room, Rise was forced to use her experience as an idol to stay sane at school. She ignored the haters, smiled at her supporters, and developed a reputation as a bright, flirtatious girl, but deep down, she felt like she was like living in the depths of winter, trapped without knowing what to do, as she spent day after day under her teachers' watchful eyes, all of whom thought she was the despair of them. Meanwhile, her fans acted like the case was a humiliating desecration of her image. They rampaged on the net, questioning how Rise answered the description of the witnesses.

But Rise didn't care.

Nothing could change the fact that she was a suspect.

She was becoming increasingly despondent about the way things were going, almost despairing of having her normal life back.

"Things will get better, Rise-chan."

"Yeah, don't worry about those people, we're rooting for you."

The brunette gave her friends a small smile of appreciation as they waved her good-bye near her grandmother's store. She smiled on instinct, the little bits of it that was left from her idol days.

She heaved a sigh which failed to lift her spirit at all.

"I see that you have to smile despite yourself."

She turned around and was face to face with the last person she wanted to see that day, in his usual blue cap and school uniform. Her mood made a somersault from bad to worse.

"What now?" Rise snapped.

"I take that back, you seem to be incredibly vexed now," Naoto said as Rise glared at him.

"You know what, just leave me alone," Rise said, "The case is over."

She hated having anything more to do with the detective.

"The case is still unsolvable," Naoto replied, "And we believe there are still suspicious things about you."

"You don't have to tell me that..." she said, frowning. She knew better than Naoto that people still suspected her as a murderer.

"You don't have a convincing alibi. The tofu that you were supposed to deliver was nowhere to be found."

"I know, and I don't know how that happened!" she said. It was so painful when you knew that nobody would believe everything you said.

"I'm going to solve this case no matter what it takes," he said seriously, "You were the only suspect, Kujikawa-san, and from my point of view, the police declared your innocence too quickly."

Without another word, Naoto walked past her as Rise slowly opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

* * *

Desperate to forget everything that had happened, Rise was determined to keep herself busy and began to apply for a number of clubs. Or more like, she was so desperate that she applied for so many of them for no reason. She even joined the athletics club, despite having zero interest in sports. A lot of guys were delighted and even excitedly came to watch Rise's first day in the club, but when a short-haired girl named Chie Satonaka noticed their stares, she proceeded to kick the hell out of one of them, sending him running away while screaming, "But I've bought you a new DVD! !"

When Chie told Rise that it was also her first day there and she was initially forced by the athletics club members to join, they agreed to quit the club and started hanging out together since that day. Chie never mentioned anything related to how Rise had descended to the level of personal insults, and this made Rise feel more comfortable around her.

Until Naoto started tailing her everywhere at least.

"Rise-chaaan. He's here," Chie said during one of their breaks in the canteen.

"Crap, hide me."

"Why do you hide from him so much? Some people would kill to be chased around by Detective Prince."

"Senpai, you take back that lame joke or I'll.."

"Gee, where did your 'dangerous girl' persona run off to? Hey, Shirogane!"

"Don't call him...!"

Rise spent the next few days at school to run away as far as she could from the detective, who put the same amount of effort to track her down. This, of course, attracted the attention of a lot of people, and Rise got even more frustrated because she couldn't explain the real reason of their behavior, which was something along the lines of "he is trying to make me admit how I mysteriously murdered a man".

After getting their lunch interrupted for the third time, Chie said to Rise, "Rise, I think he's obsessed with you. It's kinda creepy."

"And what should I do? Tell the police?"

"No, well, you can just kick him."

"I can't just resort to your way of dealing with things, Senpai."

"Then just flirt with him? Like you usually do?"

"No! Any guy but him!"

"Oh I know,"Chie said, slightly amused, "You can just stalk him back! Find out his weaknesses and blackmail him. Great idea, huh?"

Rise's jaw dropped and Chie hurriedly said, "I was just joking. Then how do you deal with him?"

Rise let out a slow breath. "I don't do anything special. I just go home as fast as I can. I'm safe from him at home."

"You sure take clubs too lightly," Chie said, playing with the collar of her green jacket.

"Don't worry Chie-senpai. When you've finally formed the kung fu club, I'll gladly be the manager."

"No way, it'll just be chock-full of horny guys!"

Rise laughed as Chie continued to rant about a guy named Yosuke Hanamura. As long as people like Chie were still around, Rise felt like she still could enjoy her disastrous life. With that thought in mind, she went home in high spirits and helped out her grandmother on a new recipe, keeping a small, warm bubble of positive thinking in her heart.

She didn't expect that bubble to be popped pretty soon, though.

"Welcome!" her grandmother called out when she noticed a customer standing on the front door.

Rise almost ducked under the counter on instinct.

"Good afternoon."

He bowed his head a little to Rise's grandmother, who watched him curiously.

"Why do you... Are you a stalker? ?" Rise said with a scowl.

"As you might have already known, I come here because you've been evading me, Kujikawa-san," Naoto said, raising an eyebrow.

Rise approached him swiftly and said, "Listen, I have nothing else to say to you."

She didn't need how far she could hold back her anger before the discussion deteriorated into an argument.

"Well? We still have some issues to discuss," he said matter-of-factly.

"No, we don't. I don't know anything. I don't know how he died. Just...just leave me alone already."

She just wanted this to end.

"I can't," came his reply, "It is my duty to solve this case."

Rise shook her head. "Why can't you just look for some other case to solve? ?"

Naoto gazed at her, undeterred. "This case is my last chance, Kujikawa-san. I can't just leave it unsolved."

Not interested in finding out more about that subject, Rise grabbed Naoto's shoulders and shook him.

"Case and work! Are they all you think about? You twisted detectives have caused enough problems in my life! Does this look like a game to you? Don't you ever stop to think about other people? As long as you complete the job, it doesn't matter if other people suffer, does it? ?"

Naoto looked stunned, and Rise stormed to the back of the store. She couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She was sick and tired of people treating her like a criminal. She wished she could just turn back time and refuse to run the errand.

Rise couldn't sleep at all that night.

When she prepared herself for school the next morning, trying her best to walk like a normal person and not a zombie, she remembered Chie's suggestion to stalk Naoto back.

'That's stupid,' she thought, 'But do I have any choice now?'

That guy would continue to make her life a living hell if she didn't do something.

She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and searched for Chie's name in the address book.

* * *

"Naoto? Well, he's been famous as a detective before you came back here," Chie said, "I don't know much about him, maybe you should ask his classmates or something."

"I did try that just now, but there isn't much," Rise told her, flickering her hair over her shoulder, "They just know he's a hard-working guy. He's not anti-social, but he's not exactly pretty open, either."

"What, just now? You mean during this break? He's not in his class?" Chie asked, leaning back against her seat.

"I didn't see him," Rise said, then she realized something.

Naoto wasn't following her today. She wondered why she just noticed this now.

"Maybe you should try to look for him?" Chie teased.

"Why should I?" Rise snapped.

"No, wait, I'm serious. I promised Yukiko I will be meeting her in the library today. I think you should try to find out more."

However, Chie couldn't coax her to do it.

Rise was grateful enough she didn't get to meet Naoto today, although she couldn't help but wonder why she didn't.

* * *

It was pouring outside when the school was over that day. Rise glanced at the gloomy clouds above the school building and sighed. It rained too often in this town for her liking. She waited for the rain to stop, but when it just got worse, she gave up and prepared herself to get soaked.

As she was about to open her umbrella, she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw her grandmother's number on the screen.

"Rise-chan, I'm sorry to call you so suddenly," she said, "I'm at Kunisaki-san's place now, I thought I could be back to the store soon, but it suddenly rained and it just won't stop. Can you please hurry and go back? It'll be bad if the store's left unattended for too long..."

"It's alright, Grandma, I'm going home now, you don't need to worry."

"Thank you so much, Rise-chan."

Before she could walk further, her phone buzzed again and this time she saw her former manager's number on the screen.

Rise pursed her lips.

"Inoue... I told you not to call me again."

"Have you watched the news recently?" came Inoue's frustrated voice, "Your fans are going crazy. They keep coming to the agency."

Rise imagined her fans descending to the agency in their usual idol garments. "And? You want me to take responsibility?"

"You do know how we end up in this situation right?" Inoue said.

Rise had become desensitized to her former manager's attempts to make her feel guilty, so she said, "Just say what you want to say already."

"You've done enough damage to the agency," he said, "The higher-ups are considering to replace you with someone else. Some of them hope this will act as a deterrent for the others.."

Rise's eyes widened. Inoue spoke in an uncaring tone, clearly thinking she had sown the seeds of her own destruction.

"They're still discussing about it, but.."

But Rise didn't want to hear anything anymore.

She threw her phone into her bag and started running back home, ignoring the stares of the passers-by.

She was going to be replaced.

Everyone was going to forget about her.

It was something that might bring her normal life back, but why did it hurt so much?

Everything... everything would be over and she would become an ordinary high school girl once more.

She lied to the very end.

Nobody saw her true self and nobody would ever do.

Almost every step she made was greeted with a splash from the dirty puddles, soaking her thigh-highs. The heavy rain blurred her sight and her hair fluttered in the wind, but she didn't stop running until she had arrived at her grandmother's store. She stopped at the door, trying to control her frantic breath.

That was when she realized someone was standing nearby.

Holding her umbrella tighter, she wiped her eyes and recognized the familiar figure.

"Naoto-kun...?"

Naoto's cap was tipped so low that Rise couldn't see his eyes, just like when they first met. He was completely drenched from head to toe, and Rise couldn't think of any reason for him to just stand there idly in the middle of a rainstorm.

"Naoto-kun! What are you doing? ?"

When Naoto didn't answer, Rise considered her options.

Wait, what options? She couldn't just let someone standing stupidly in the middle of a storm like this!

"Why the heck are you standing here? ?" she cried out, grabbing Naoto's arm, "If you want to go in, just go in!"

When Naoto didn't respond, Rise impatiently pulled him into the store. She forced him to sit down at one of the tables.

"If you want to meet me or something, wait inside the house, don't just stand there like a creepy old man!" she said, "I don't know how geniuses deal with rain, but ordinary people like me look for a shelter and dry myself!"

Rise kept on babbling nervously while rummaging through her grandmother's cabinet, still unsure of why she didn't just ignore him when she saw him standing in front of the store back then.

He didn't say anything at all when Rise asked her questions while fetching him a towel.

"I'm going to go and change," she said.

Naoto did nothing but stare at her, and she felt like she should add something. "Err...and don't go back outside!"

She changed her clothes in full speed and went back to the store.

Naoto's gaze was fixated on the floor, and his uniform was still dripping.

'This is going to be awkward,' Rise thought.

She put on her headscarf and apron very slowly, stealing glances at Naoto while trying to guess what he was here for.

He could just _say _something.

The silence was killing her.

"Do you want some tea?" Rise asked when she couldn't hold herself back from talking any longer.

When Naoto unsurprisingly stayed silent, Rise decided to make a cup for him anyway.

She turned to pick up the teapot when she finally heard his voice.

"I'm sorry."

It was the first thing she heard from him that day.

Rise was taken aback, but she continued to pour the tea into two cups.

She put one of them on Naoto's table, and Naoto continued to speak, "I made a mistake in my last case."

"Is that why you are so persistent with this one?"

"Yuuichi-san is so disappointed with me, but he's willing to give me a chance to redeem myself. There aren't enough clues, so we have to work really hard," he said, "But I didn't think of all the pain you went through. I'm sure you detest me now."

"I don't hate you," Rise said, sipping her tea, "It's more like, it's your job that is detestable, and it's normal, isn't it? Suspects hating their investigators?"

The rain continued to pour as they drank their tea in silence.

It never occurred to Rise that she would ever sit at the same table with Naoto, drinking tea without arguing about their case at all. Naoto looked more relaxed than how he usually was when Rise met him these days. It might be true that he was working under constant pressure. Rise didn't know Naoto too well, but she knew how it felt to have a job like that.

Perhaps, in unexpected ways, they were more similar than she initially thought.

"You look down," Naoto remarked.

"Oh, it's nothing," Rise said, surprised at how he realized she was still devastated because of what her former manager had said. "We just...feel a lot of pressure because of work."

After a moment of silence, she said, "You're actually...kinder than I thought."

Naoto stared at her in confusion, as if he never thought "kind" was the word Rise would ever use to describe him.

"I mean, I never thought you would come and apologize over something like that," Rise said.

Naoto chuckled. "You're kinder than I thought too."

"Wait, what?"

Naoto must have heard bad rumors about her. 'Probably that I'm a hateful, egoistic girl who likes to play with boys,' Rise thought bitterly.

"Well, I did some research on you, and I thought you would never do something like helping someone like me out in the rain..." he explained with a smile. "I've brought you too much trouble. You're much kinder than I thought, Kujikawa-san."

She had never seen a smile so genuine that she couldn't help but admire it for a few quiet seconds.

"...Rise," she finally said.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Just call me Rise," she muttered, "Being called by my last name feels weird."

"Alright, Rise-san," he said.

Rise huffed. "...Please drop the –san."

Naoto laughed lightly and they continued to chat until the storm turned into drizzle. Rise's grandmother soon came back and resisted that Rise and Naoto tried out her new recipe. Naoto had been speaking in a light, casual tone that made Rise realize he was just a friendly, ordinary high schooler. She thought he would mention the case, but he simply looked like he was enjoying himself that day. Even Rise herself felt a little better after her former manager dropped a bombshell like that just now.

As soon as they finished eating, Naoto stood up and looked at his watch.

"I need to go to the police station now. Thanks for the meal."

"You need to go back so soon?" Rise blurted out.

Their eyes met and Rise realized what she had just said. "I mean, I thought we are going to talk about the case or.."

"What happened today didn't change anything between us, Rise-san," he said.

He used that serious tone that Rise hated so much.

"It's better if you stop," Rise said, biting her lip, "I know nothing and that's all I can say."

"Well then I'll find my own way," he said, walking toward the front door, "Even if I have to find out your private secrets."

"To prove me guilty?" Rise said, raising her voice, "Fine. I changed my mind about you. I know what you want. You think you're the only one who can do it? I'll find your secrets and make you regret ever messing with me!"

Naoto stopped walking and Rise felt victorious for a while.

But then he turned his head and Rise could see him smirking.

"I'd like to see you try."

And with that, he vanished into the rain, leaving Rise alone at the table.


End file.
